Hanging On
by liblouella81
Summary: Olivia left the SVU crew three years ago, but something happens and she returns.  Will she be able to handle staying in New York for good?  E/O! M for future chapters.
1. Guys, We Can't Breathe

****Hi, ya'll! This story takes place in sort of an AU, but not really...if that makes any sense. Elliot only has Maureen and Kathleen, no twins or Eli, and they're both a little older...18-20ish. Olivia moved away from the SVU crew three years ago, but now...it's time for her to come back. I've read some other stories sort of like this, so I'm REALLY hoping I can keep this unique. Hope ya'll enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them.**

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><p>Looking down some something crashed into her leg, Olivia chuckled as she saw the small face looking back up at her. "Hi, momma," the little girl grinned up at her.<p>

"Hi, baby," Olivia greeted, bending down and scooping the three-year old up into her arms. The girl's curly brown hair swayed as her mom tickled her, earning a squeal.

"Stop it, momma! I not wanna be tickuhed!" the girl tried to speak between her bouts of laughter.

Resting the girl on her hip, Olivia smiled, kissing her forehead. "Did you have a good nap, Emmabug?"

The little girl's blue eyes beamed back at her as she smiled and rested her head on her mom's shoulder. "Yes ma'am," she told Olivia politely. Kissing her again, she put the girl down on the floor.

"Go wash your hands, it's almost time for dinner, okay?" Olivia chuckled as Emma scampered down the hallway, alternating between skipping and running. Turning back to the pot of pasta on the stove, Olivia stirred it and turned the fire off.

As she reached for the pot holders, her cell phone rang. Without looking, she hit the button and held it to her ear. "Hello?" she answered nearly cheerfully. She didn't hear anything. "Hello…" she repeated, emphasizing the O at the end.

"Liv?" a man asked.

"This is Olivia Benson, yes, who is this?" she asked, resting a hand on the counter, her eyes pinched together.

"It's Fin, baby girl," he spoke.

Her eyes widened and her heart stopped. "Um…what's going on?" she asked cautiously. She had left New York three years earlier and hadn't spoken to any of the SVU crew since.

"I just wanted to call to tell you that…um…" he paused.

Emma came running back into the kitchen. "I washed my hands, momma! Smell!" she offered her hands up towards Olivia's face with a smile spreading across her own face.

Olivia held up a finger. "Go sit down, baby, we'll eat in a second," she spoke after she covered the phone receiver.

"Who are you talking to?" Fin asked, confused.

"Nobody. Why'd you call, Fin?" she asked sharply.

"I just wanted to let you know that…" he took a deep breath. "Elliot was shot today."

Her heart stopped at the sound of his name. "Oh…god…" she fell into a chair, earning a concerned look from her daughter. "Is…is he…is he okay?" she studdered.

"No, baby girl," Fin replied with a sigh. "He's in a coma, Liv. I just thought, ya know…you might of wanted to know."

"Thanks, Fin," she spoke softly, tears already rolling down her cheeks. As she laid her phone down on the table, Olivia stared off into the kitchen wall of her small apartment.

"Momma, what wrong?" Emma asked, patting her mom's hand.

Shaking her head, trying to snap herself out of the daze she was in, Olivia looked down at her daughter. "After we eat, we're going to go see somebody," she told Emma, wiping tears from her own cheeks.

"Who we goin' to see, momma?" the little girl asked, confused. She wasn't sure if she had ever seen her mom cry.

"One of mommy's friends isn't feeling very well, so we're going to go see him, okay?" Emma nodded as Olivia stood up and quickly finished fixing their dinner. Once dinner was over, Olivia threw a few pairs of clothes for each of them into a couple of bags and loaded everything into her SUV. "You ready, baby?" Olivia asked, looking back in the rear view mirror.

"Yes ma'am," Emma replied from the backseat. Olivia flipped on the small DVD player in the backseat and Finding Nemo soon occupied the little girl, leaving Olivia time to think and drive.

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><p>"Come on, baby, time to get up," Olivia spoke, pulling Emma out of the car-seat. The little girl clung to her mom, resting her head on Olivia's shoulder. Rubbing her back, Olivia shut the SUV door with her foot, pulled her purse onto her unoccupied shoulder, and walked towards the hospital.<p>

Emma's eyes wandered around as they entered the hospital, raising her head as Olivia stopped walking. "I need Elliot Stabler's room number, please," she asked the front desk receptionist.

The lady smiled and nodded. After a few clicks, she looked up. "He's in room 612."

"Thanks," Olivia replied with a half-smile.

"Where your fwiend, momma?" Emma asked, her blue eyes wide as she saw all the people.

"He's upstairs, baby." Olivia looked over at Emma and smiled at her. "When we get there, I need you to behave like the big girl you are, okay?"

The little girl nodded her head causing her auburn curls to bounce. "I will, momma. I pomise."

As the elevator dinged letting them know they were at the sixth floor, Olivia kissed her daughter's forehead and took a deep breath. Rounding the corner, her heart stopped beating as she saw several people that she hadn't seen in years. She quietly and slowly walked towards them, her brown eyes wide and observant. She saw a head poke out from behind one of the guys. "Oh…my…GOD," Casey's eyes were huge as she pushed Cragen out of the way. "OLIVIA?" she squealed and walked quickly towards her.

"Hi, Case," Olivia spoke as Casey squeezed her tight, embracing the little girl, too.

"BENSON!" she heard another woman's voice.

Looking around Casey's head, Olivia smiled as she saw Alex. "Hey, Cabot," she greeted as the blonde and redhead continued to squeeze her and Emma. After a few seconds had passed, Olivia turned her head towards her daughter and smiled. "Guys, we can't breathe…" she chuckled.

"Right…You look fantastic!" Casey said with a chuckle, backing off with Alex.

"Thanks," she replied, trying to fight the overwhelming feeling.

"And who is this beautiful little girl, Benson?" Alex asked, smiling at Emma.

Emma looked at her mom with a confused look. "Why dey call you dat, momma?" she asked, getting a chuckle from the entire group.

"Guys," Olivia said after taking a deep breath, "This is my daughter, Emma. Emma, say hi to mommy's friends." With seven unknown people staring at her, Emma hid her face in Olivia's shoulder. Running a hand over her back, Olivia kissed her forehead. "She's a little shy," Olivia chuckled.

After saying hi to everybody – Cragen, Munch, Fin, Casey, Alex, George, and Melinda – Olivia sighed. She knew she had questions to answer, but she knew her friends wouldn't grill her at the hospital. "We're both going to go," George told everybody referring to himself and Melinda.

"Bye, guys," everybody replied, waving. Before long, the only people left along with Olivia and Emma were Cragen, Munch, and Fin.

Sitting in the waiting room, Olivia took a deep breath as they all watched Emma play across the room with some blocks. "She's beautiful, Liv," Munch observed, sitting back in his chair.

"Yeah, baby girl," Fin added, "She looks just like you. Except for her eyes," he noted, pinching his eyes together as it hit him.

Olivia smiled as she watched Emma put all of the blocks in different colored piles according to colors. "How old is she?" Cragen asked, leaning back in his chair.

"She's three. She'll be four in June," Olivia told them.

"Momma!" Emma called out from the corner. "Momma, come look!" Olivia got up and walked to where the girl was, squatting down when she got there. "I putted dem in colors, momma!" the little girl bragged.

Chuckling, Olivia nodded. "You sure did, baby. Very good!" Olivia clapped and hugged her daughter. "Keep playing," she told Emma, kissed her on the head, and walked back to the chairs. "Hey, uh…do you guys mind, watching her? I, uh…" she nodded her head towards Elliot's room.

"Of course not, baby girl," Fin replied with a smile. He had always loved kids, especially ones that would play games with him.

Olivia smiled and walked back to Emma, bending down again. "Emma," she called the girl's name. Her daughter ran to her with a smile, knocking Olivia over onto the floor, sending everybody into a laughter. She pulled her daughter into her arms and kissed her cheek, making a sucking noise as she pulled back.

"Quit it, momma!" Emma laughed, standing in front of her mom.

"Remember my friend that I said we were coming to see?" she asked. Emma nodded and tilted her head. "I'm going to go see him for a minute." Fin walked over to where they were and smiled as he sat down in the floor by Emma. "Uncle Fin," Olivia pointed, "Uncle Munch, and Grandpa Cragen are all out here, okay?" she asked. Emma looked them all over, her eyes wide, and got closer to her mom.

"Look, Uncle Fin wants to play blocks with you!" Olivia pointed out as Fin stacked the blocks up.

"Can you help me, Emma?" Fin asked. "I dunno if I can do it by myself."

The little girl's grin slipped out Olivia pulled her into another hug. "I'm going right around the corner. I'll be back, okay, baby?" Olivia asked, kissing her cheek.

"Go, momma," Emma instructed, standing up placing a block on top of Fin's building. "I gonna play wif Unka Fin."

Chuckling, Olivia got up and started walking, stopping by Cragen and Munch. "Where are um…you know…Kathy, Maureen, and Kathleen?" she asked, picking her purse up.

"Kathy bailed two years ago," Munch told her.

"Mo and Katie are flying in from Honduras in the morning. It was the earliest flight they could get."

"What the hell are they doing in Honduras?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Cragen chuckled. "A lot has changed, Liv. Mo and Katie both joined a missionary type deal and are down there helping the less fortunate." The answer warmed Olivia's heart. She knew that they had always talked about helping people, but she was glad they finally did it.

"I'll be in there," Olivia told them with a final deep breath.

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><p>Stepping into the dim hospital room, Olivia's heart immediately sunk as she saw him lying in the bed, hooked to all the wires and tubes. Tears instantly filled her eyes as she dropped her purse into a chair and stood at the end of the bed. She raised a shaking hand to cover her mouth as her other arm crossed her torso. "Oh, god…" she gasped.<p>

Elliot had stitches across his forehead and his visible skin was bruised up. Trembling, Olivia walked slowly to the side of his bed and let out a loud sob. Trying to stop herself from making any noise, she took several deep breaths. Her brown eyes looked his beaten body over as she stood beside the man that had protected her all those many times…the man that she could've killed for his cockiness many times…the man that held her heart all those many years.

Looking down, she placed her hand, still shaking, on top of his and squeezed as she sat down in the chair next to the bed. Choking back more tears, her bottom lip quivered. She put her head down onto their hands and let out another loud sob, her tears falling onto the bed.

Finally, she lifted her head up and looked at his closed eyes. She wanted _so_ so bad to see his blue eyes. Taking a deep breath, Olivia stifled her tears. "El," she whispered, wiping a tear from her cheek with her free hand. "Elliot…it's me. It's Olivia." She took another deep breath. "And I really…REALLY…need for you to wake up," she told him, nearly pleading. "Please, El…" she finally begged, letting out another sob.

Squeezing his hand again, she sat back in her chair. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "I know I don't do this often," she spoke out loud, "But I really need your help right now." She, by no means, was a religious person, but she _really_ needed God's help at that moment.

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><p>After a while of just praying, Olivia inhaled and exhaled as she stood up. "I'll be back," she whispered to Elliot as she kissed his cheek. As she walked back out into the waiting room, Olivia saw Emma asleep in Fin's arms as they sat across from Munch and Cragen.<p>

She smiled. "Thanks," she whispered, reaching out for Emma.

"No problem," Fin replied, carefully moving Emma from his arms to Olivia's. She took the little girl and smiled down at her as her blue eyes opened.

"Go back to sleep, baby," she whispered and kissed her forehead. The little girl's eyes fluttered back shut as Olivia rocked her gently. "You guys can leave," she told the three men.

Cragen simply shook his head. "We're here for the long-haul," he told her.

"You okay, Liv?" Munch asked, folding the newspaper that he was reading and laying it down.

Her brown eyes looked up as she took a deep breath. "I will be," she assured them. "How…uh…how'd it happen?" she asked.

"He went with his partner…Michael Lewis…to check out a rape in progress," Cragen started.

"His _partner_," Fin scoffed, earning a look from Cragen.

"While they were chasing the guy, Lewis was supposed to back him as he went down the fire-escape, but he didn't. The perp got off two rounds. One hit Stabler's leg and the other hit him in his chest, and it ran into his spinal cord."

Olivia's heart stopped as she nodded. She would _never_ have let that happen. "Where's Lewis?" she asked softly, patting Emma's bottom softly.

"He called in the shots fired and got a bus there. After we all got there, he quickly informed us that that line of work "wasn't right for him," or something," Munch rolled his eyes behind his dark glasses.

"Straight out of the academy?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow. All three men nodded causing Olivia to shake her head. "Figures."

"So, baby girl," Fin asked, "Where have you been?"

Taking a deep breath, she tried to smile. "Well, after I left, I moved to Jersey. I had Emma and I've been working for their computer crime's unit."

"Is there a Mister Benson?" Munch asked, earning a chuckle from Olivia.

"No," she answered simply. "This little girl keeps me pretty busy," she said with a smile.

"She's just like you," Fin told her. "Just a younger, mini-Badass Benson," he laughed.

Smiling, Olivia nodded. "I've tried to teach her right," she spoke softly as she looked down at the sleeping toddler in her arms. Running a hand through her soft curls, Olivia smiled down at Emma.

"I'm going to get coffee, guys," Munch told them. "What do you want?" he asked. Fin and Cragen gave him their orders as Munch turned to Olivia.

"Want anything Benson?" he asked.

"Nah, I can run down to my vehicle in a little bit and get Emma's bag."

"Nonsense," Fin told her, holding out his hand. "Gimme the keys and I'll run down and get it."

Olivia looked up, her brown eyes wide. "You don't mind?" she asked.

Fin rolled his eyes. "Gimme the damn keys, Benson," he chuckled. She dug them out of her pocket and tossed them to him. "Which bag is it?"

"The pink princess one," she chuckled softly. "You can't miss it."

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><p>After Fin and Munch left, Olivia sighed and looked over at Cragen, noticing he was staring down at Emma and smiling. "She's Elliot's, isn't she?" he asked bluntly.<p>

Kind of taken by surprise, Olivia took a deep breath and smiled down at Emma. "Yeah," she admitted softly, brushing her hand through Emma's hair. "But, nobody…"

"Knows," he finished with a nod. "Don't worry, I'm not going to say a word." She nodded and sighed. "It's great to see you, Liv. Of course, it's horrible under these conditions. But it's really great to see you."

Smiling, she nodded in agreement. "I'm not going to lie, it's kind of weird being back. But I'm glad I've gotten to see everybody."

"You know…when you left…everybody was just lost." Olivia bit her bottom lip and looked down at the floor between them.

"I had to," she confided in him, looking back up into the Captain's eyes. "I couldn't take it anymore." Most people would've assumed that she was talking about work, but Cragen knew otherwise.

"I understand," he nodded.

Looking up, Olivia chuckled as she saw Fin carrying the hot pink bag across his chest proudly. "That look is good on you," she told him as he put it down beside her.

"I was hoping it would. I chose this over the lime green on," he said in a preppy-boy accent.

"Thanks, Fin," she told him, taking the keys from him.

"No problem, baby girl."

"Liv, there's an extra bed in Elliot's room if you want to go put her down," Cragen told her. "We've requested that it remain a private room, so nobody's going to need in there."

She nodded and stood up. "Thanks," she told him, holding on to Emma and grabbing the pink bag. She carried her daughter into the room and sighed again when she saw Elliot. She put the bag down on the extra bed and smiled down at Emma.

"Wake up, baby," she whispered, kissing the girl's forehead. She heard Emma groan as she tried to bury her head in Olivia's chest. "Emma, wake up, sweetheart," she gently shook her arm.

"What, momma? I's sleepin'," Emma groaned at her, squinting her eyes open.

"We need to get you into your jammies. Can you stand up for me?" she asked, lifting her onto the bed. The girl nodded and braced herself against her mom's shoulders. "Arms up," Olivia instructed. Sleepily, Emma lifted her arms. Soon, her shirt was replaced with a sleep gown covered in multicolored butterflies. Olivia pulled the little girl's jeans off of her and laid them to the side. "Do you need to potty?" she asked quietly.

Emma nodded. Olivia picked her off of the bed and slipped her shoes back on her feet, not wanting her to walk on the germ-infested bathroom floor. Emma used the bathroom and stood back up, her mom helping her back up into the extra bed. Olivia pulled her pink blanket out of her bag as Emma looked up. "Is dat your fwiend?" she asked and pointed.

Olivia smiled at her daughter and nodded. "Yep. But you have to be quiet so he can sleep, okay, baby?" Emma nodded and laid her head back down as Olivia covered her up with the blanket. "Go back to sleep, Emmabug," she kissed her daughter on the top of her head.

"Momma," the girl clung to Olivia's shirt. "Don't leave me, pwease…" she begged. Smiling, Olivia climbed into the bed and pulled Emma into her arms. In return, Emma sweetly pulled her little blanket partly over her mom.

"I love you, Emma Katherine," Olivia told her, staring into her blue eyes.

"I luff you, too, momma. Lots and lots," she promised, earning another kiss from Olivia.

"Go to sleep, baby. I won't leave you." The girl quickly dozed back off in Olivia's arms, and Olivia soon followed her lead.


	2. She Has His Eyes

****Hey, ya'll :) So, I couldn't quit writing! I really hope you guys like this chapter. It's not as sad and sappy, it's more about being reunited, etc. Review, please! (Muchas gracias for the reviews on chapter 1!)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own them...**

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><p>As they slept, Olivia was woken every couple of hours by a nurse taking Elliot's vitals. After the young lady had come into the room around 6, Olivia just decided to stay awake. She slipped out of the bed and smiled down at the little girl still lying there. Pulling the blanket back over her daughter's shoulders, Olivia slipped her shoes on and turned around.<p>

Seeing Elliot was just as shocking now as it was the night before. When she had left New York, she missed him more than she would ever admit. Crying herself to sleep became a regular habit, and even more so when she found out she was pregnant.

But, regardless of her feelings then, she had had enough time to straighten out how she felt now. She walked to his bed and placed her hand on his. Giving it a light squeeze, she bent down and kissed his forehead. "Morning, El," she whispered. Trying to smile, Olivia backed out of the room quietly. She didn't want to wake Emma up and her not be in the room.

As she rounded the corner, she saw the three men still in the waiting room. Fin was passed out across several chairs and Munch was sleeping sitting straight up. Cragen, on the other hand, was awake and smiling. "Morning," he responded to her presence.

"Morning," Olivia replied back. "Is there a coffee machine around here?" She ran a hand through her _fantastic_ hair.

"No, I'll run down and get you a cup. I need one anyways," he told her with a smile as he stood up.

"You don't have to do that, Cap," she tried to argue against him, knowing there wasn't a point.

"You're getting coffee," he chuckled. "Go back in there before Emma wakes up."

Olivia nodded. "Right. Thanks," she replied as he was walking away.

She walked back into the hospital room and saw Emma still asleep. She smiled and decided to sit back down beside Elliot as she took a deep breath. "Come on, El," she pleaded. "Just wake up. I know you're hanging on, so just wake up." Squeezing his hand, she sighed as he didn't move.

As she sat beside his bed, she remembered the days that they had together. Some of the memories made her laugh, like when Kathleen called _her_ instead of her parents to come pick her up from school after she got in a fight. And some made her cry, like when Elliot questioned whether or not they should be partners anymore after her throat was cut.

The door opening snapped her out of it, so she turned to see who it was. Cragen reached out as he handed her a cup of coffee. "Tall white chocolate mocha, non-fat, non-whipped, right?" he asked.

Olivia chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, thanks a lot." She took the warm cup in her hand and sighed, looking back down at Elliot. "Have you talked to the doctor recently?"

Cragen shook his head. "The doctor last night told us that him waking up…" he took a deep breath, "Probably wasn't going to happen. And that he'd be in every day, at least a couple of times, but mostly just for the nurses to give him enough medicine to keep him comfortable."

A big tear rolled down Olivia's cheek as she looked back down at her old partner. "I need to talk to that Lewis guy," she finally spoke up through clenched teeth.

Chuckling, Cragen opened the door. "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea, Liv. After all, it wouldn't be good for a cop to kill somebody in cold blood."

As he left, Olivia sighed. She looked over as she heard Emma make a noise. Putting her coffee down, she took a few steps and stopped beside the bed. "Momma?" Emma asked, her eyes still shut but she was feeling the empty bed beside her.

Olivia smiled. "I'm here, baby," she told the girl, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. With one of her eyes halfway open, Emma groaned, causing Olivia to chuckle. Her daughter had never been a morning person, much like herself.

"Momma, I's cold," Emma told her, pulling at the small fleece blanket.

"Well, we can't have Emmabug being cold, can we?" Olivia asked, climbing back into the bed. She pulled her daughter into her arms and felt her body relax. "Did you sleep well, baby?"

"Yes ma'am," the girl replied. "I dreameded 'bout butterfwies."

"You did? How many butterflies were there?"

Emma opened her eyes and looked up into her mom's brown ones. "Dere were kazillions!" she exclaimed. "And dey was all a diffent color, momma!"

"What color was your favorite?" Olivia asked, kissing the top of Emma's head.

"Hmm…" she thought out loud. "Probably da pink ones." After a few moments of silence, Emma looked up at Olivia, both girls smiling. "How did YOU sleep, momma?"

Laughing, Olivia grinned. "I slept very well, thank you."

"Momma…" Emma asked as she traced a finger against Olivia's arm.

"What, baby?"

"I's hungry a lot," she patted her stomach.

"Can you hear your stomach growling?" Olivia asked with wide eyes. Emma shook her head with a nervous look on her face. "Here, let me see if I can…" She put her head toward the girl's abdomen and suddenly blew against it, causing a weird noise to feel the room.

Emma squealed and pulled her mom's head back up to where it should've been. "No, momma. No ticklin'."

"But…I wanna tickle," Olivia pouted, making Emma grin.

"No, momma. We needs to eat bekfust," Emma told her matter-of-factly. Olivia laughed and climbed out of the bed, pulling Emma up after she was standing.

"Let's get dressed and we can go eat, okay?" Olivia asked as Emma nodded.

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><p>"Hey, guys," Olivia called out as she and Emma rounded the corner into the waiting room.<p>

"Hey, guuuyz," Emma mimicked, earning chuckles from everybody in a certain distance.

Fin sat up with a grin spread across his face. "What's up, Emmabug?" he asked, opening his arms so she would run to him. She leapt into his arms and he spun her around, making her squeal.

"Unka Fin! Stop it!" she demanded. "We's gonna go eats bekfust." Putting a hand on her hip, she glanced back across the room at her mom.

"You guys want to join us? It's on me," Olivia offered, pulling her purse over her shoulder.

Munch stood up. "Nobody's gotta offer free food to me twice," he quipped with a chuckle.

"Cap, you in?" she asked, taking a few steps.

"Nah, I ate a little bit ago. You all go ahead, though."

"You'll call…" Olivia started.

"I will call as SOON as something happens," he promised. Olivia nodded with half of a smile, knowing she could trust him, but still nervous about leaving Elliot.

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><p>"Whatcha want for breakfast, Emmabug?" Fin asked, holding her against his hip.<p>

"Hmmm…" the girl appeared to be in serious thought but she suddenly looked down with a smile on her face and her blue eyes big. "I want bacon and eggs," she placed her order.

Olivia chuckled. Every morning for all of the child's life, all she wanted was bacon and eggs. She could occasionally get Emma to eat a waffle, but the little girl was never thrilled about not having bacon and eggs.

After getting their trays of food, they all sat down. Olivia set up Emma's plate of eggs and bacon and opened her carton of milk. "Hold out your hands, Em," she instructed. The little girl did as she was told without question, knowing what was coming. The two grown men watched intently.

Olivia dropped a couple of drops of hand-sanitizer onto Emma's hands and onto her own hands. "Rub them together," she reminded Emma. The little girl followed her mom's actions and rubbed the alcohol gel onto her skin. "Good," Olivia praised. "Now show Uncle Fin and Uncle Munch that you can eat like a big girl." She pressed her lips against Emma's head as her daughter nodded in compliance.

"You're amazing with her, Liv," Munch observed, taking a bite out of his toast.

Smiling, Olivia looked down at her mini-me and chuckled. "I was just blessed enough to have an amazing kid," she replied graciously.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Fin called out, getting three stares from the people at his table. "You…Olivia Benson…just used the word 'blessed' in a sentence…" Olivia laughed and nodded her head. "Who are you and what have you done with our Bad…Benson?" he stopped himself before finishing her name in front of Emma.

"It's been three years, guys," she told them, glancing down and helping Emma hold her milk. "A lot of things change in three years. And, I'd like to think that I changed for the better." She looked across the table and smiled.

Munch dropped his head down slightly. "You know, Liv," he spoke softly, "Stabler went crazy when you left." Her eyes got wide as she stared down at her tray. "I'm sure even…uh…_sleeping_ Stabler is happy about you being here."

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><p>Several hours later, the three guys had left and Alex and Casey had showed up. They all sat in the waiting room as Emma laid across the floor and colored in a coloring book. "So, Liv," Casey asked as she shifted her weight in her chair. Olivia looked up from Emma with raised eyebrows. "How have you been?"<p>

She smiled and took a deep breath. "I've been good, Case. Emma keeps me busier than I was ever before and I'm working at Trenton, New Jersey's computer crimes unit. We have a small apartment that's perfect for us. Emma's in preschool three half-days a week. We're good."

Alex smiled as she leaned down and pointed to the coloring book. "You're doing so good, Emma!" she praised. The little girl smiled.

"Fanks, Aunt Alex," Emma replied. "It's for you."

"It is?" Alex acted shocked. "All for me?"

Emma nodded and looked over at Casey. "You is next, Aunt Casey," she told them as she went back to coloring.

The women laughed. "Where are you staying, Liv? You can't stay in the hospital with Emma," Alex asked.

Taking a deep breath, Olivia sighed and looked towards the ADA's. "I can't leave. You guys know that."

The redhead and the blonde both nodded as they all looked back down at Emma. "Let me take her for the night," Casey offered.

"You don't have to do that, Case," Olivia replied. Of course the hospital wasn't the best place for Emma, but she would be okay.

"Seriously, Liv. Let me take her. Fin would _love_ to play with her and you know I'm good with kids." Olivia chuckled.

"I'll help out, too," Alex chimed in. "We can take her to dinner, then back to Casey's place. We'll bathe her, read her a story, kiss her goodnight, ya know…the whole nine yards."

Olivia smiled and stood up, walking to where Emma was. She sat in the floor beside her daughter and smiled as Emma looked up, her blue eyes wide. "Emma," Olivia asked, "Do you want to go stay the night with Aunt Casey and Uncle Fin?"

Her little eyes got even bigger as her lips curved upward. Nodding furiously, she stood up and crashed into her mom's chest. "Can I, momma? Pwease?"

Chuckling, Olivia hugged Emma. "As long as you promise to be a big girl and be good."

"I pomise, momma! I is going to be da best big girl in da world!" She squeezed her arms around her mom's neck as she begged and bargained.

They gathered Emma's stuff up and switched the car-seat from Olivia's vehicle to Casey's. Before they left, Olivia picked Emma up and hugged her tight. "You be good, baby, okay?" Emma nodded. "If you need me, just call, Case," she looked towards the redhead.

"We'll be fine, momma!" Casey replied with a laugh, taking the girl from Olivia. She fastened her into the car-seat and hugged Olivia. "I'll have her call you before she goes to sleep."

Olivia nodded with a smile. "Bye, Emmabug!" she called out before she reached for the door. "I love you!"

"Bye, momma! I loves you, too, lots and lots!" the little voice called out.

Watching as they drove off, Olivia's heart sank. She knew Emma would be fine, but she still didn't like the idea of being away from her for so long. Shaking her head, she grabbed her back out of her vehicle and eventually made it back to Elliot's room.

She sat her bag on the extra bed and walked back over to his bed, sitting in the chair beside it. As she sat there, her hand eventually found his as she propped her chin up with her other hand. Looking his bruised body over, she sighed. "Elliot Richard Stabler, I NEED you to wake up." After watching him not move for a moment, tears filled her eyes. "Please, El…" she begged with a catch in her throat.

Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself down. She sank back in her chair, not letting go of Elliot's hand, and squeezed her eyes shut. Dozing off, Olivia slept for about an hour before she was jolted out of her slumber.

Looking over, she saw people coming in the door so she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Liv?" she heard a girl ask as she opened her eyes.

"Mo! Katie!" Olivia squealed back and stood up, both girls running into her.

"I can't believe you're here!" Kathleen told her, stepping back with a grin on her face.

"Yeah," Maureen agreed with her eyes pinched together, but still smiling. "Where have you been, Liv? We've missed you!" She hugged Olivia again before Olivia stepped back, revealing their father lying in the hospital bed.

Both girls immediately teared up as they stepped up to the bed, holding a hand up to their faces. "Oh, God…" Maureen gasped.

"Daddy?" Kathleen asked, reaching down to touch his hand but jerking it back when she made contact.

Olivia sighed and pulled both of the girls into her arms. "He's going to be fine, girls. You just have to wait it out," she assured them.

"Captain Cragen told us that the doctor said dad probably wouldn't wake up," Maureen sobbed into her chest.

"You just have to have faith, Mo. Now, you girls quit your crying because you know your dad hates it when you cry," she instructed. "Pull up those chairs, we have some catching up to do, huh?" she asked with a semi-smile.

Following their orders, Mo and Katie both pulled a chair to the side of their dad's bed and took deep breaths. "So…Liv," Maureen cleared her throat, "How have you been? _Where_ have you been?"

Smiling, Olivia pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I've been good," she told them. "I live in Jersey."

"Alone?" Kathleen asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

Shaking her head with a smile, she passed the phone to the girls. "She's so cute! Who is she?" Maureen exclaimed.

"She's my daughter. Emma. She's three."

"Oh, Liv! Congratulations!" Maureen replied with a smile on her face as she wiped another tear away.

"How have you guys been? I heard you were in Honduras."

Kathleen smiled as she nodded and wiped a tear from her cheek, looking down at her dad. "Yeah, we both signed up to be missionaries in underprivileged countries. Dad wasn't thrilled at first, but he got over it," she chuckled.

"We get to go around, help people get their feet back on the ground, find jobs, all of that stuff," Maureen added.

"That sounds amazing, girls. Really. I'm proud of both of you," Olivia smiled.

"So, does dad know you have a daughter?" Maureen asked cautiously, glancing between her dad and Olivia.

Shaking her head and biting her lip, Olivia sighed. "No. Not yet."

"She's his, isn't she?" Kathleen asked softly.

"Yeah," Olivia nodded and looked down at Elliot. "How'd you know?"

As she smiled, Maureen sighed. "She has his eyes."

Olivia chuckled. "That she does."

"Why'd you leave, Liv?" Kathleen asked bashfully, not wanting to upset Olivia.

About the time Olivia opened her mouth to answer, she felt something on her hand. She didn't think anything of it, so she shook her head quickly and looked back at the girls. "There was a lot going on…" she started. Feeling something on her hand again, she looked down.

Her brown eyes got huge as she saw Elliot's fingers moving. "Oh, God!" she gasped as her heart started racing. "Get the doctor!" she told one of the girls.

"Daddy?" Maureen asked as Kathleen flung the door open.

"He's awake! We need a doctor!" she yelled, running back to the bed.

Olivia's eyes began to fill with tears as she saw his blue eyes squinting open. "Excuse me," one of the doctors spoke as he pushed past Olivia. She backed up against the wall at the end of his bed and cupped her hand over her mouth.

"Daddy, can you hear me?" Kathleen asked, taking his hand in hers.

In the daze he was in Elliot's eyes slowly darted around the room, registering the faces. He observed each face, but stopped on one in particular. '_The girls…the doctor…the nurses…and, wait…is that possible?'_ he asked himself.

His eyes fixated on hers as the doctor and nurses buzzed around him, hitting buttons and checking his vitals. Once they had slowed down, the doctor smiled at Olivia and the girls. "He seems to be fine," the doctor spoke in a surprised voice. "But let him get his rest when he wants it," he instructed, earning three nods.

The girls stepped back to his bedside and squeezed his hand. "Daddy…" Kathleen called out, noticing he wasn't responding to them.

Olivia, still pressed against the wall, stifled a sob as her entire body shook. Her heart stopped when he opened his mouth. "Liv?" his raspy voice asked, confused, as he blinked his eyes a few times.

Smiling through her tears, Olivia nodded and slowly walked to the bed, his eyes following her. "It's me, El," she told him, placing her hand on his. He squeezed her hand, still staring at her in disbelief. "I'm here," she promised as more teardrops fell down her cheeks.


	3. Plus an Extra Kid

****Hey, guys. So, I'm pretty busy with school but I wanted ya'll to have another chapter to read :) I hope ya'll are having a great week!**

**Thanks for the reviews, btw...they make me smile mucho :D**

**Don't own them..sadness...**

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><p>"What happened?" Elliot asked groggily, unsure of where he was. He felt a lot of pain in his chest and his leg, but he didn't know why.<p>

Maureen and Kathleen both squeezed his hands as Olivia stepped back towards the end of the bed. "You were shot, daddy," Maureen told him.

"Your so-called partner," Kathleen scoffed, "Didn't have your back and the bad guy shot you. You've been in a coma..."

His eyes pinched together, he nodded gently. After taking a few minutes to get readjusted to everything, watching Olivia as he did so, he took a deep breath. "You came back," he finally spoke.

Wiping a tear from her cheek, Olivia nodded with a half-smile. Maureen looked between the to detectives and smiled. "Come on, Kathleen, we need to go call people. Don't worry, dad," she told him as she held the door open for her sister, "I'll tell everybody not to come until tomorrow since it's almost midnight tonight."

Elliot smiled as best he could and watched as the girls left. His eyes immediately turned back to Olivia who was still propped against the wall at the end of his bed. "Have a seat," he told her, motioning to the chair beside his bed, cringing as he moved. He was in complete shock that she was actually there.

Moving slowly, Olivia sat in the chair beside him as her eyes wandered down to her own fidgeting hands. "I can't believe you're here," he eventually spoke.

She looked up and nodded, choking back a tear. "Fin called me yesterday and told me what happened," she shrugged.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," he told her, sitting up somewhat in his bed. "I thought you hated me, to be honest." He was getting his bearings back as he retraced certain memories in his mind.

"I could never hate you, El. You know that." Taking a deep breath, she sighed. "I'm sorry I left." Her usually strong voice wasn't the voice that was speaking. She sounded weak and hurt.

"Hey," he said with a smirk, "Let's not talk about this now, huh? I just want to talk with my best friend." Olivia smiled and placed her hand on the bedrail, being taken by surprise when Elliot took it in his own hand. "How have you been?" he asked as he ran a thumb across the back of her hand.

"I've been good," she told him with a genuine smile, thinking about Emma's smiling face.

"Is that all I get?" he chuckled. "Just 'I'm good'? I need more, Liv." His blue eyes traced her facial features as he saw her take a deep breath.

Looking back up at him, she weakly smiled. "I have something I need to tell you, El, and I'm not sure how you're going to take it," she spoke softly, afraid of how he was going to take the news, but knowing she _had_ to tell him. After all, she drove all the way to New York with Emma and didn't plan on leaving until Elliot was all healed up.

"What, Liv?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. He noticed she had the look on her face that she usually got when she had to break bad news to parents or family members about a murder victim. After he saw her bottom lip quiver, he tilted his head to the side, squeezing her hand. "You can tell me," he assured her.

"After I left," she started, noticing her hands were beginning to tremble, "I found out that I was pregnant."

Not knowing how to react, Elliot just nodded and waited for her to continue.

"We have a daughter, El," she finally told him, her eyes locked on his. She saw his jaw drop as his eyes became a lighter shade of blue. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything," she spoke mainly to herself. "Fucking hell," she mumbled, putting her forehead in her spare hand.

"We have a daughter?" he asked, tugging on the hand he was holding. Olivia nodded but continued to rest her head on her hand. "That's…that's amazing, Liv!"

Catching her by surprise, Olivia's head popped up with narrow eyes. "You're okay with this?" she questioned. She figured that he would've been furious for her hiding their daughter after leaving abruptly without saying bye.

"Of course I'm okay with this!" he exclaimed with a grin. "What's her name? How old is she? Where is she?"

Lightly laughing, trying to take it all in, Olivia shifted her weight in the chair. "She'll be four in June and she's with Casey and Fin."

"What's her name, Liv?" he asked, running his thumb across the back of her hand.

Smiling, her brown eyes stared into his blue ones. "Emma Katherine Stabler."

Hearing her name sent Elliot into a state of pure bliss. "I'm speechless, Liv. So, so speechless."

"I'm so glad you aren't upset with me," Olivia told him, exhaling a big breath.

"You know good and well I can't be mad at you," he reminded her with a chuckle. "You may have been gone for three years, but I have a feeling we're picking up where we left off."

"I hope so," she admitted, "Plus an extra kid." Chuckling, she realized how happy she was at that very moment. Her heart was still racing, but it was the kind of fluttering you get when you get your first kissed or tell someone you love them.

"When do I get to meet her?" Elliot asked, also beginning to realize how happy he was. Sure, he had been in a coma, his chest was killing him, and he had a cast on his leg, but all of that didn't matter to him anymore.

"Casey and Fin will bring her by tomorrow sometime."

"What does she look like?" he asked, completely intrigued.

Smiling, Olivia pulled out her phone. Pushing a few buttons, she finally pulled up a recent picture of Emma and handed it to Elliot. "She's your little twin," he laughed and smiled.

"Yeah, with the exact replica of your eyes," she rolled her eyes.

Still smiling as he handed the phone back to her, Elliot shook his head. "I'm really glad you're back, Liv."

"Me, too," she spoke softly. "When Fin called and told me what happened," her eyes began to get watery, "I didn't know what to do. I felt horrible for leaving you but I knew I couldn't just sit in New Jersey and leave you here."

"Hey, come here," he told her, pulling on her hand.

"I don't want to hurt you, El," she shook her head and resisted his tugging.

"Either you come over here or I'm coming over there," he warned her with his Stabler-grin. God, that grin…she had missed it _so_ much while she was away. Standing up, Olivia gently leaned over the bedrail and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I've missed you so much," he whispered, running his fingers along her shoulder blade.

He heard her let out a soft sob as she gave in to his embrace. "Hey, shhh…" he tried to hush her. "Hey look at me," he told her as he lifted her chin up and smiled. "I'm not mad at you for anything, Liv."

"But…" she tried to object.

"But, nothing," he cut her off. "I'm not mad. You did what you had to do and now you're back. That's all I can ask for. Really, I'm not mad, okay?" Nodding slightly, Olivia tried to smile through her tears as he wiped them away. "Just promise not to leave without saying goodbye again," he chuckled.

"I promise," she told him as she sat back down in the chair. "Besides," she chuckled, "Emma told me that she wouldn't leave until she met 'mommy's friend.'"

"How come I get the feeling she's _just_ like you?" he laughed softly, watching her every move.

Shrugging, she tried to look innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about."

* * *

><p>After chatting with Elliot, Kathleen, and Maureen for a couple more hours, Olivia had fallen asleep in the chair next to Elliot's bed. The girls were sharing the extra bed when Olivia woke up. Stretching, she realized that she was getting too old to sleep in weird positions like she could years ago.<p>

Looking around as she ran a hand through her messy hair, she saw Elliot smiling at her as he pretended to flip through a magazine. "Morning," he spoke quietly, not wanting to wake his two oldest daughters up.

Olivia smiled and straightened out her shirt. "Good morning."

"Maybe you _have_ changed," he chuckled, flipping past another page.

Raising an eyebrow, Olivia tilted her head slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he told her with his Stabler-grin, "The Olivia Benson I knew would've rather been shot than say 'good morning' to anybody."

"Having a toddler will do that to you," she chuckled. Feeling her phone vibrate, she pulled it up to check the caller ID. "Speaking of…" she told him, holding a finger up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Liv," Casey groaned.

Olivia held back a laugh. "What's wrong, Casey?"

"First, you didn't tell me whodunit would be up at the crack of dawn. Second, you have someone wanting to talk to you," Casey informed her. Olivia chuckled as she ordered Fin to fix her a giant cup of coffee.

"Put her on," Olivia instructed, smiling up at Elliot.

After a shuffling noise, she finally heard Emma's sweet voice. "Momma?"

"Morning, baby," Olivia greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes ma'am," the girl responded politely. "When I get to see you again, momma?"

Looking down at her watch, Olivia smiled. "You get to come see me whenever Aunt Casey and Uncle Fin get ready and drive you here, Emmabug." Elliot grinned at the idea of meeting his little girl.

"Aunt Casey! Unka Fin! We gots to hurry!" she heard Emma squeal, dropping the phone.

"Liv, I'm going to kill you for whatever you just told her," Casey threatened and hung up the phone.

Olivia laughed and pulled her phone down from her ear. "I may have forgotten to mention to Casey that Emma gets up at 6 every day on the dot," she chuckled as Elliot laughed. "I have a feeling the entire NYPD is going to visit you today, I hope you're ready."

"As long as I get to see you and Emma, I don't care who else shows up," he told her, glancing up at her from his magazine as she smiled bashfully.

* * *

><p>Within the hour, Kathleen and Maureen had both gotten up, Cragen showed up with coffee for everybody, and the doctor came to see Elliot. After bugging the doctor about when he would get to go home, Elliot relaxed a bit. The doctor told him that as long as he had someone to take care of him, Olivia volunteering immediately, he would get to go home that afternoon.<p>

Maureen and Kathleen had retreated to the waiting room with Cragen after being told to come tell Olivia when Casey, Fin, and Emma got to the hospital. "Liv, they're here," Maureen stuck her head in the door.

Smiling, Olivia stood up and gave Elliot's hand a squeeze. "I'll be back," she told him as she opened the door. Shutting it quietly, she rounded the corner and saw Emma running towards her.

"Momma!" the little girl squealed as Olivia scooped her up and hugged her tight.

"Hi, baby," Olivia greeted, kissing her on her cheek. "Were you good for Aunt Casey and Uncle Fin?" Carrying her back to the waiting room with everybody else, Olivia smiled as Emma nodded furiously.

"I was very good, momma. Da best."

Olivia smiled and kissed Emma's forehead. "You want to go see mommy's friend?"

Nodding with a grin, Emma wiggled herself out of her mom's lap. "Here goes nothing," Olivia mumbled, straightening her shirt.

As they got to the door, Olivia knocked softly and pushed the door open, smiling down at Emma. "Come on," she guided her daughter into the room, looking up at Elliot. Grinning when she saw his wide eyes and smile, Olivia chuckled as Emma clung to her leg, pulling on her hand.

"Up, momma," Emma asked, burying her face in Olivia's leg.

Olivia pulled her up and kissed her cheek as she walked towards the bed with her daughter on her hip. As they got closer to him, Emma hid her face in the crook her Olivia's neck. "Elliot," she spoke softly, "This is Emma. Emma, can you say hi to mommy's friend?"

Emma shook her head, not looking up, only leaving Olivia with one choice. She poked her daughter's side with a finger and wiggled it causing Emma to squeal and sit up straight, pushing at her hand. "Stop it, momma," Emma instructed, pointing a finger towards Olivia.

Laughing, Elliot covered his mouth trying not to scare his daughter. "There she is," Olivia smiled, kissing Emma's forehead. "Look, baby," Olivia pointed at Elliot. "See? He's not scary is he?"

As her blue eyes nervously looked over at him, Emma fiddled with the ribbon on her dress and shook her head. "Now, can you say hi?"

Emma visibly took a deep breath and looked bravely over at Elliot. "Hi, mommy's friend," her tiny voice spoke.

"Hi, Emma," Elliot replied, smiling as he tried not to laugh. "Did you have fun with Aunt Casey and Uncle Fin?"

Her eyes got big as she tilted her head. "You knows dem, too?" Olivia laughed as she rubbed Emma's back.

"Yep, sure do," he told her. "Uncle Fin is one of my best friends."

"Mine, too," she responded matter-of-factly with a grin on her face.

Olivia sat down in the chair next to the bed and smiled as Elliot and Emma interacted. It warmed her heart knowing that Elliot wasn't upset with her and that Emma seemed to liked him. "How old are you, Emma?" he asked with a grin.

"Dis many," she told him as she carefully held up three little fingers.

"How many is that, baby?" Olivia asked.

Turning her head back with a cocked eyebrow, Emma tilted her head. "It's free…you knowed dat already, momma," she informed Olivia. Her answer sent Elliot into a fit of laugher.

"She really is just like you," he chuckled, making Olivia grin and roll her eyes.

After talking for a while, Elliot could see the gears in the little girl's head turning. "Momma…" she asked as she looked between Elliot and Olivia.

"Yeah, baby?"

"Is he my daddy?" she asked bashfully, glancing cover as Elliot choked on air.

Olivia smiled down and kissed her daughter's forehead then looked up at Elliot, non-verbally asking what to do. Slowly, Elliot smiled and nodded, staring Olivia in the eyes. Looking back down at Emma, Olivia smiled. "Yeah, baby. He's your daddy."

Emma coyly smiled and batted her big blue eyes. "Can I hugs him?" she asked, looking up at her mom.

"As long as you're very careful and don't touch any of the wires that you see," she told Emma, lifting her up into Elliot's arms.

Wrapping her small arms around his neck, Elliot smiled past her over at Olivia. "Hi, daddy," Emma whispered, pulling her head back to look at him.

"Hi, princess," he replied, kissing her forehead.

"Momma, he calleded me p'incess!" Emma told her excitedly.

Olivia and Elliot both laughed. "I heard, baby." Emma settled into Elliot's side and sat perfectly still.

"Well, that's what you are, isn't it?" he asked, smiling down at her.

She nodded with a grin. "My mommy calls me Emmabug. Like a…what its name, momma?"

"Like a ladybug," Olivia replied and laughed, noticing two pairs of blue eyes staring back at her.

* * *

><p>Hearing a knock on the door, Elliot looked up from the coloring book that he and Emma were coloring in. "Come in," he called out. He smiled as he saw the guy in the white coat. "Sup, Doc?" he asked, returning to his Princess Jasmine picture in the Disney coloring book as Emma colored Ariel.<p>

Giving him a strange look, the doctor decided to shake it off. "Good news, Detective Stabler," he started, "All of your scans look great. After consulting with some other doctors, we determined your coma to be from all of the stress on your body. It was your brain's way of saying to take a break for a minute."

The doctor fiddled with his IV and flipped the chart open, jotting something down inside. "Who dat man, daddy?" Emma asked, her eyes full of curiosity.

"That's daddy's doctor," Elliot told her with a smile. "Hopefully here to tell me I can go home now," he shot the doctor a look.

"Everything looks great," the doctor confirmed. "The _only_ way I'm letting you out of here today is if you have someone to be there with you."

"That's me," Olivia said, scooting to the edge of her seat.

"Great," the doctor smiled. "Detective Stabler, _absolutely no working_ for at least four weeks. I want to see you in here every week so I can check to make sure everything is heeling like it should be. After the four weeks is up, you'll be able to return to work but only on desk duty for a while."

Elliot groaned. "Fine, just let me sign the papers and leave."

The doctor, who happened to deal with Elliot on a regular basis with different rape victims, rolled his eyes. He didn't take Elliot's statement personally, he just handed over the file and pointed to the line.

After signing, Elliot looked up and smiled at Olivia then smiled down at Emma. "Ready to go home, princess?"

Nodding with a grin on her face, Emma carefully pushed all the crayons back into the box and closed the coloring book. "Let's go, momma and daddy," she told them as she lifted her arms up for Olivia to pick her up.

"This should be fun," Olivia chuckled as she sat Emma on her hip.

"More than you know," Elliot agreed, gently sitting up in his bed.


	4. Going to Check on Gimpy

**So...I can't EVEN begin to tell yall how much I suck for not updating for MONTHS. But...imagine all the "I'm sorry's" in the world and multiply them by 839 and that's how sorry I am. I graduated from college (woop woop!), got an adult job (boooo), and I've been getting settled into the job, working with crazy hyper misbehaving kids all day long. However...**

**Here's the 4th chapter! We get to follow Elliot, Olivia, and the girls as they head to Elliot's apartment for a night of...well, a night of awkwardness, really. But after so many years apart, what are the chances it wouldn't be at least somewhat awkward? **

**Oh, and I don't have any plans for this weekend for the first time in MONTHS, so I'm hoping to get some majorly needed writing done! :) Enjoy!**

****Don't own them...saaadness!****

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><p>Packing up the things that had accumulated in the couple of days Elliot was in the hospital, Olivia smiled as she looked over and saw Emma laughing at something Elliot had done. All three of them looked up when the door opened, the two adults smiling as they saw Maureen and Kathleen. "Hey, girls," Olivia greeted, folding Emma's blanket.<p>

Both smiling, the girls approached Elliot's bed. They hadn't been officially introduced to Emma yet, so they didn't want to scare her off.

With big eyes, Emma looked up at Elliot. "Who's dey?"

"They," he told her, "are your big sisters." Kissing the top of her head, he smiled at his two oldest daughters.

"I gots sisters?" she asked, nearly squealing.

Laughing, Elliot nodded. "Yep. That's Maureen and Kathleen."

Looking at the older girls bashfully with a confused look, Emma's eyes pinched together. "Dat's _who_?" she asked.

"You can call me Mo," Maureen told her with a smile.

"And you can call me Katie," Kathleen added, sitting at the foot of Elliot's bed.

"Is mommy your mommy, too?" she asked, still unsure of the situation. Giggling, Maureen and Kathleen shook their heads.

"No, baby," Olivia told her as she chuckled. "They have a different mommy." As Emma made an "oh" face as she began to understand, Elliot kissed the top of her head. Olivia zipped up the last bag and turned around, smiling. "Ready to go?" she asked everybody.

Earning three answers of just "Yeah," Emma cheerfully, but carefully, remembering her daddy being hurt, yelled "Let's go, momma!" Standing up on the bed with Elliot's help, she grinned coyly at the two older girls.

"Emma, you want to go with Mo and Katie out to the vehicle?" Olivia asked, handing each of the girls a bag, leaving two for herself. Emma wasn't so sure about going with the two unknown girls, no matter how excited she was about having sisters.

"Come on, Em, we don't bite!" Maureen told her, reaching out a hand.

Kathleen reached out a hand, too, and smiled. "We'll stay where you can see your mommy," she offered the toddler.

Reluctantly, Emma reached out both hands and placed them in the two bigger hands waiting for her. Smiling and nodded, Olivia picked up the two bags left. "Go on, baby," she encouraged. As the girls went out the door, she turned back to Elliot. "You ready?"

Grinning, he stood up on his crutches. "More than you know, Liv."

* * *

><p>After three flights of stairs, Elliot was about ready to fall over dead. He had used crutches before, but he never had to climb stairs with them. "My key is in my pocket, Liv," he told her as he reached in his pocket.<p>

Smiling bashfully, she held up her keys. "I still have mine," she admitted as the girls finally reached the top of the stairs. Elliot grinned as she twisted the key in the lock and pushed the door open. "After you, gimpy," she and the girls chuckled.

"Ha…haha…" Elliot 'laughed' back as he rolled his eyes and hopped into the apartment on one foot.

As she flipped on the lights, Olivia sat the two bags down beside the door and laid her keys on the small table as if they belonged there. As the girls came in the door, Maureen shut it and locked it. "Momma, up," Emma asked, holding her arms in the air.

Giving in, Olivia reached over and pulled the girl onto her hip, kissing her cheek when she got in reach. "Is dis daddy's house?" Emma asked, looking around with wide eyes.

Olivia nodded as she watched Elliot sit down on the couch. "Yeah, baby."

"If it's daddy's house, why is dere so many pictuhs of you, momma?"

As she looked around, she realized her daughter was right. Looking away from the pictures on the wall, she saw Elliot watching her out of the corner of her eye. "I don't know, baby," Olivia answered honestly with a shrug. Kissing her forehead, she put Emma down.

"Hey, Emma, come look at our room!" Kathleen called from down the hallway. Without a second thought, the toddler took off running down the hall and into the girls' room.

Chuckling, Olivia walked to the couch and plopped down beside Elliot. "How are you feeling?" she asked, her brown eyes finding his.

"I'm good, Liv," he told her with a light laugh, reaching for a pen on the coffee table.

"Are you really good, or just the "I'm good" that the old Stabler used to tell me after he got shot?"

Grinning, Elliot rolled his eyes. "I'm really good. This cast, however…" he mumbled, and shifted his leg allowing the pen inside the cast.

"Quit fiddling with it," she warned him, taking the pen from him and putting it out of reach. "And you are _not_ allowed to take it off for any reason."

"I would never do such a thing." His tone was thick with sarcasm.

"Elliot Stabler," she scolded. "Do NOT take that thing off."

Rolling his eyes, he quit pulling at the cast. "Yes, _mom_," he groaned.

* * *

><p>Once dinner and bath time were over, Olivia smiled as she watched Emma "play" Candyland with Maureen and Kathleen. It was more of an "Emma just moves pieces around and points out colors" type game, though. Elliot was in his bedroom resting as she finished cleaning up the kitchen. "Hey, Liv," Kathleen called.<p>

Poking her head around the corner, Olivia's eyebrows raised. "Yeah, Katie?"

"Can Emma watch a movie with us?"

"Sure," she replied, drying her hands with a kitchen towel. "What movie?"

"NEMO!" she heard Emma yell.

Chuckling, Olivia walked to her daughter and squatted down in front of her. "You can watch a movie with Mo and Katie, but as soon as it's over, you have to go to bed, okay?"

As Emma nodded furiously with a grin on her face, she reached up and hugged her mom's neck. "Fanks, mommy!"

Olivia smiled, kissing Emma's cheek, and stood up. "I'm going to check on Gimpy," she told the other girls. Looking down at her daughter, she smiled. "You do whatever Katie and Mo tell you, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Emma replied, settling into the space between her older sisters.

* * *

><p>Knocking on the door lightly as she got to the bedroom, Olivia cracked it open. "El?"<p>

"Hey," he smiled as he saw her. "Come on," he told her, moving a pillow out of the spot beside him on the bed.

"What are you watching?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, not sure if she needed to be any further than that.

"There's not much on," he chuckled, tossing the remote to her. "I think this is Deadliest Catch or something like that." Leaning back against the headboard, Olivia left the remote beside her.

After watching a few minutes of the show, Elliot noticed how she was sitting, narrowing his eyes. "What's wrong, Liv?"

"Huh?" she asked, turning her head towards him. "I'm fine," she tried to smile.

"Liar," he quipped with a chuckle as he reached over and hit the mute button on the remote. Looking up into her brown eyes, he smiled and put his hand on top of hers. "Tell me what's wrong, Liv."

Taking a deep breath, Olivia sighed. "The last time I was in here was when…" she trailed off with a shrug. "It's just bringing back some memories."

"I never apologized to you," he spoke quietly.

Catching her attention, Olivia looked over at him with a confused look. "You shouldn't be the one apologizing, El," she sighed. "I'm the one that left without saying goodbye."

"But I'm the one that gave you a reason to leave," he whispered, reaching his hand over and cupping her cheek. He saw the tears building back up in her eyes. "I shouldn't have done that, Liv. And while I'm ecstatic about the results," he smiled at the thought of Emma, "I still shouldn't have done that."

As a tear slipped down her cheek, she tried to smile. "It takes two people to make a baby, El," she chuckled. "I was just as guilty as you."

"Yeah, but I was the married one with kids." Feeling her hand tremble under his, he immediately reached over and pulled her into his arms, as she began to cry. He rubbed her back as her tears hit his t-shirt, just letting her cry. "Shhh…" he tried to calm her down. "I'm here, now…we're together…it's okay, sweetheart…"

Hearing the little pet name he let slip, Olivia's heart fluttered amongst all of the sobs. "I missed you so much," she breathed heavily, giving into his embrace even more.

"I've missed you, too," he assured her, running a hand through her hair. He knew this had to be hard for her, and he couldn't even imagine what all was going through her head.

* * *

><p>Talking for a while was what Olivia and Elliot both needed. They caught part of the way up on the last three years, telling work stories, kid stories, all of the above. As they leaned against each other's shoulder, Olivia sighed. She didn't know what was going to happen, she just knew that her feelings for him weren't as resolved as she thought they were.<p>

Hearing a light knock on the door, they both sat up as Olivia ran a hand through her hair. "Come in," Elliot called, pulling a pillow against his chest.

Poking her head in, Kathleen smiled. "Liv, the movie's over. I think Emma is starting to fall asleep, but she won't admit it," the girl chuckled.

Smiling, Olivia moved to the edge of the bed. "I'll be in there in a second," she told Kathleen, watching her quietly close the door back. "Are your blankets still in the hall closet?" she asked, slipping her shoes back on.

"Yeah. Emma can sleep in the room with Maureen and Kathleen," he told her, also moving to the edge of the bed.

"I was just going to make us a bed on the couch," she told him with a shrug, walking towards the door.

Catching her hand, Elliot pulled her back to him before she was able to grab the doorknob. "El, what are you doing?" she asked, resisting at first, but eventually giving in to his arms around her waist.

"Don't sleep on the couch, Liv," he whispered as his lips brushed across her forehead, running his hand across her back.

With her arms draped around his neck, Olivia sighed, "El…"

As he pulled his head back, he smiled and reached up to run a hand through her hair. "Not like that, Liv," he assured her, his blue eyes piercing hers. "I've missed you, I don't want to be away from you."

Taking a deep breath, her eyes closed slowly and reopened as he kissed her forehead. She nodded slowly and half-smiled. "I need to go fix Emma's bed then," she told him, reaching for the door.

Elliot smiled as she left despite the fact that he was scared as hell. He just wanted to be close to her. He most definitely didn't want to try anything, but he was scared that that was what Olivia was thinking. Shrugging, he hopped out of the room and into the hallway. "Mo, Katie," he called out as he poked his head around the corner going into the living room.

"Yeah, daddy?" Kathleen asked, her head sticking up from the couch.

"Do you mind Emma staying in your room with you guys?" he asked, propping himself against the wall.

"No, of course not," Maureen chimed in with a grin. Sure, she already had a little sister, but this one was _little,_ little.

"I gets to stay wif Mo and Katie?" Emma asked, running over to Elliot with a giant grin on her face.

Chuckling, Elliot swooped her up into his arms, earning a cackle from the little girl. "Yeah, princess," he kissed her forehead.

"Emma," Olivia called from down the hall, "Time to brush teeth."

As she started to wiggle to get out of his arms, Elliot hung on tight. "Daddy," she scolded, putting her hands on her hips.

"What?" he asked with a laugh at her posture.

"I gotsta get down. I gotsta brush my teef so dey don't fall out." Her auburn curls bounced as she talked. Chuckling as he saw Olivia at the end of the hall with her hands on her hips, Elliot put Emma back on the floor.

After Emma was done with her nightly routine, which included using the bathroom one last time and brushing her teeth, she ran into the bedroom where she was sleeping. Coming down the hall, Olivia laughed as she saw her daughter working so hard at climbing into the pile of blankets on the floor between the older girls' beds.

Before she laid down, Emma held out her arms towards her mom. Olivia wrapped her arms around the girl and kissed her forehead. "If you need me, I'll be across the hall, okay?" she asked. Emma nodded and kissed her mom. "I love you, Emmabug."

"I luff you, too, momma," Emma promised, her blue eyes staring back at Olivia as she smiled. "Daddy didn't tell me goodnight," the girl frowned.

Kissing the top of her head one last night, Olivia stood up. "I'll go get him. Goodnight, baby," Olivia told her, as she stepped into the hallway. "El," she called out.

"In the kitchen," he responded. Rounding the corner, Olivia smiled as she saw him looking at pictures from Kathleen and Maureen's most recent trip.

"You have an unhappy toddler saying you didn't tell her goodnight," she informed him, sitting next to Maureen.

Chuckling, Elliot got up and hobbled down the hallway. Peeking around the corner, he smiled. "Hey, princess."

"You didn't tell me goodnight, daddy," she informed him, her blue eyes looking up at him from the pallet she was lying on.

"I was letting mommy get you ready for bed then I was going to come in here and tell you goodnight," he promised, sitting on the edge of Kathleen's bed. He watched as she flung the covers back and got up. "What are you doing, Em?"

"I know dat you can't hug me down here 'cuz of dat fing on your leg," she told him, standing in front of him.

Smiling, Elliot pulled her onto his lap. "You're so smart," he brushed her auburn hair back and kissed her forehead. As he squeezed her tight in his arms, he bent his neck down and made loud 'kissing' noises against her neck. Olivia quietly approached the door, but stayed out of sight, smiling as she heard Emma and Elliot both laughing.

Emma squealed as she pushed against his chest to get out of reach. Looking up at him, she smiled and touched his cheek. "Daddy?" she asked, staring back into blue eyes so similar to her own.

"Yeah, princess?"

"Why is dere so many pictuhs of mommy here?"

Smiling, Elliot brushed a curl out of her face. "Because I love your mommy very much," he told the toddler. "And it made me sad when she wasn't here, so pictures of her made me happier."

Making an "oh" face, Emma understood what he was saying. "Is you gonna marry mommy?"

Elliot _knew_ that was coming, so all he could do was chuckle. "Let's not worry about that tonight, huh, princess?" he asked, kissing her forehead one last time. "Get in bed," he shooed her off his lap with a smile, patting her bottom as she turned towards the blankets.

Doing as she was told, Emma crawled back into the pile of blankets and laid her head against the pillow. "Night, daddy," she told him as he walked to the door.

"Goodnight, princess," he smiled and flipped off the light, pulling the door mostly closed. As he turned around, he saw Olivia leaning against the wall. "How…uh…how long you been standing there, Liv?" he asked, trying to conceal a Stabler-smile.

Her brown eyes found his in the dim light of the hallway as she sweetly smiled. "Long enough," she replied, turning around and walking into the living room.

As his heart began racing, he wondered if she had heard what he said. He wondered if she believed it. Shaking his head, he hopped and followed her down the hallway. "Girls, I'm heading to bed," he told them, propping against the wall.

Maureen and Kathleen both looked up with a grin. "Go ahead, daddy," Maureen encouraged, her eyes darting between him and Olivia. Kathleen put a hand over her mouth to hide her giggle.

"Goodnight, daddy," she told him, returning her gaze back to the pictures in front of them before he caught on that they knew what was going on.

"Goodnight, girls," Olivia smiled as she lifted her bag off of the living room floor.

"Night, Liv," they both replied, still hiding chuckles.

Rolling her eyes, she walked back down the hallway, past Elliot, and turned into the bedroom. She dropped the bag on the foot of the bed and began to dig in it as Elliot shut the door behind himself. "Liv," he asked as she began walking towards the bathroom.

"Hmm?" she asked, her brown eyes wide as she smiled and stopped.

"What I said was true," he assured her, _knowing_ she had heard what he told Emma.

Smiling again, she leaned over quickly and pressed her lips to his cheek, setting his skin on fire. "I know, El," she whispered, vanishing into the bathroom.


	5. The Hardest Addiction to Break

****As I told the readers of my other SVU story, I can't explain how sorry I am for not updating, so I'm just going to say it simply...I'm sorry! You get to decide how sorry I actually am! My work has me absolutely swamped 98% of the time and the other 2% of the time, all I do is sleep. But, it's 2:20am here and I was damned and determined to finish this chapter for yall :)**

__**This chapter starts out with a flashback! I figured I****'d let yall see why exactly Olivia left :) So this chapter has a couple of flashbacks, back to "that night" along with a few sweet present day parts. Hope yall enjoy! Review please please please!**

**Don't own them!**

* * *

><p><em>September 18, 2007<em>

"You did _what_?" Olivia yelled through clenched teeth. Her voice was overheard across the entire squad room as her partner stood at his desk, hands on the edge and his head bowed. He knew he had screwed up. "You have no fucking right to do that shit!" Earning stares from every pair of eyes in the room, Olivia shook her head as she ran a hand through her hair.

Olivia knew that she had to leave. She knew that if she didn't leave right then, Cragen was going to have to send her home and it wasn't going to be pretty. Quickly snatching her coat from the back of her desk chair, her eyes glared over at Elliot as she left the squad room. "Liv!" he called out, wanting to make it right, but he just didn't know how.

Walking out of the precinct, she quickly flinched as the cool rain pelted her visible skin. At that very moment, she couldn't care any less about being drenched, catching pneumonia, and dying. She had had it with _everything_ in her life, including Elliot Stabler.

Alex had left, Casey had left, Fin and Much were…well, Fin and Munch. She had nobody. Her best friend, her partner…he betrayed her trust. He went behind her back and did something he promised never to do.

As she began to walk, Olivia wasn't sure where she was heading. All she knew was that she had to get away from everything. After walking a couple of blocks, she looked up into a flashing neon light. "What better way to drown my sorrows than in a fifth of tequila…" she asked herself out loud.

Back at the squad room, Elliot sat at his desk, head in hands, and tried to reason with himself. He had done the right thing…right? He _had_ to do it, otherwise it could've been bad for Olivia. Maybe he should've just gone home to his wife and daughters like he did every other night. Maybe he should've told himself he didn't give a shit just _one more time_ and ignored everything pulling him towards her.

"You good, Stabler?" Fin asked as he shut his locker in the squad room.

Elliot didn't move. His eyes stayed on the picture on his desk. It was a picture of Kathy and him with Maureen and Kathleen on Christmas day. That wasn't the picture he was staring at, though. Behind the picture of his beautiful family was a picture of two people. Two people that were so extremely happy, there was no way for that happiness to be captured by a single picture.

He didn't even have to look at the picture…he knew it inside and out, every line, every shade, every smile. A couple of years prior to that day, someone had snapped a picture at a Christmas party. A single picture held one of his favorite memories of his life.

Olivia had on a shimmery black dress with one strap as she laughed. Someone had pushed her onto Elliot's lap, forcing the two to take a picture together. As Olivia laughed, Elliot's eyes traced every feature of her face as his Stabler-grin flashed the camera. Her eyes, her curls, her smile…everything about her was perfect to him. Everything.

Keeping the picture hidden was a moment of ingeniousness on Elliot's part. Kathy saw it once and nearly had a stroke, automatically accusing Elliot of "sleeping with that perfect little slut." Elliot was dying for the day when he wouldn't have to hide the picture behind a forced marriage with two children who were only born to keep the family together. Not that he would _ever_ tell his daughters that, but it was the truth.

Elliot knew something had to give, whether it was good or bad. He didn't know if he needed to push or pull, but he was going to do one or the other. Grabbing his coat off of the back of his chair, he began leaving the squad room. The stares from the other dozen people in the room was never a concern as he disappeared from their view.

* * *

><p><em>Present Day<em>

Olivia came out of the bathroom with wet hair and a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. With a smile, Elliot looked up from his magazine and chuckled. Olivia Benson had never appeared so domestic, nor as beautiful, as she did at that very moment.

"What?" she mumbled, stuffing her dirty clothes into her bag on the end of the bed. Looking back up, she moved her bag to the floor and continued brushing her teeth before she walked back towards the bathroom.

"Nothing," Elliot lied with a grin.

After she disappeared back into the bathroom, Olivia quickly reappeared and flipped the bathroom light off. As she sat on "her" side of the bed, she pulled a bottle of lotion out of the bag on the floor. Pretending to read his magazine, Elliot watched as her shoulder blades moved while she applied the lotion to her legs. Her tank top gave him a perfect view of her olive skin as her muscles moved.

Sliding up ever so slightly, Olivia's tank top began to give away one of her secrets. "Liv?" he asked, staring over at the exposed skin between her pajama bottoms and the bottom of her tank top.

"Hmm?" she asked, looking over at him with raised eyebrows.

"What else has changed while you were gone? Any drastic changes to your body?" Elliot's eyes glanced between the magazine and her skin.

"No…" she replied, confused. With her eyes narrowed, she shook her head. "Why?"

"I just thought I saw something. Don't worry about it," he told her, still praying for her tank top to lift just a little bit more.

"What'd you see?" she asked, throwing her lotion on top of her bag and turning to look at him some more.

"Don't worry about it," he nearly insisted. He really didn't want to seem like a sex fiend so quickly for being caught staring at her skin.

"Tell me, El," she insisted right back, lying on her side to face him in the bed.

With a shy grin, Elliot tossed his magazine on the nightstand and smiled down at Olivia. "I thought I saw a tattoo on your back," he admitted. With curving lips, Olivia rolled to her stomach and then onto her other side. _"Great_…_"_ Elliot thought to himself. _"I already pissed her off._"

Olivia slid a hand to her side and pulled the bottom of her tank top up about six inches. Elliot looked over and saw four numbers on her skin. "6313," he read out loud. His heart sank. "You tattooed my badge number on you?" he asked, his eyes pinched together.

Rolling back over to face him, Olivia's face was beginning to become flushed. "I didn't want to let go of you," she bashfully admitted. "When I left, I didn't take very much at all. I started over with pretty much everything," she told him as he easily moved himself to lie in the bed next to her. "I had a suitcase, my cell phone, and a picture of you."

As his blue eyes found her brown ones in the dim light, Elliot reached and brushed a hand through her hair, cupping her cheek before he removed it from her completely. "I can't believe it's been three years," he whispered, looking down as she put her hand in his on top of the pillow between them.

"You were the hardest addiction to break," she told him, tears filling her eyes again.

"You weren't so easy to get over either," he assured her, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand.

Without warning, Olivia grabbed the pillow between them and threw it off the end of the bed, moving herself closer to him, being careful to not hit his leg. His arms snaked around her as he inhaled her scent. "Please don't leave again," he asked, his lips brushing against her forehead.

Olivia decided not to reply as she curled her arms up between their chests, Elliot's hand running across her back. She didn't want to rock the boat so quickly after she just got back on it.

* * *

><p><em>September 18, 2007<em>

Walking out of the precinct, Elliot didn't flinch at all when the rain hit his face. He was numb and the rain wasn't going to change that. His mind was running a thousand miles an hour, wondering where she could've been. She had been gone an hour before he had left, and that meant she could be a million different places by now.

"_I'm overthinking this,"_ he thought to himself. Looking down the street, he automatically knew where she was. Elliot followed the neon light until he reached out of the door handle, his heart dropping with every step.

As he stepped in the smoke-filled bar, music jolted through his skin while he looked around. He finally glanced into the corner booth…Olivia's booth. Yep. She was there. He wasn't sure if he should approach her or not, but he knew there was no need in wasting time debating with himself.

Olivia, who was already three sheets to the wind, rolled her eyes as she looked up. As Elliot approached the Booth, she took one last shot of tequila and stood up quickly, which wasn't as smart of an idea as originally thought. She caught herself as Elliot reached out to help her. "Liv," he whispered, stabilizing her on her feet.

"Leave me alone, jackass," she slurred, jerking her arm out of his hand. She reached in her pocket, threw a twenty dollar bill on the table, and walked towards the door. Stumbling back onto the sidewalk, Olivia's head began to spin as she heard the bar door shut behind her. "Just go away!" she yelled behind her, the rain hitting her skin yet again.

"If you'd quit being so fucking stubborn, I'm trying to apologize!" he yelled back, grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face him.

Along with the spin, Olivia's hand met Elliot's face. "Don't touch me!" she yelled.

"Liv, I'm not letting you walk sixteen blocks like this," he informed her, taking her arm again. "Hit me all you want."

"I'm fine…" she slurred, attempting to pull herself free of his grip. "And what the hell were you thinking?" she asked, spinning around as she pointed a finger towards him. Her brown eyes were narrowed and eyebrows pinched together.

"Liv…" he pleaded with a sigh.

"No! No, Elliot!" she demanded. "I deserve an answer! After _how many fucking years_ of being your partner, you decide you can't trust me? I'm not a little girl, Elliot!" she yelled.

Earlier that evening, Olivia found out that Elliot had requested for Finn to go with him to apprehend a dangerous suspect instead of Olivia.

Elliot looked up, letting the rain wash down his face. "I had my reasons, Liv. And they're not because I didn't trust you," he tried to promise her. However, Drunk Olivia wasn't having any part of that excuse.

"Oh, no…no, no, no…" she shook her head. "You do _not_ get to play the I-have-an-answer-but-I'm-not-telling-you card! That's such a copout!"

"Do you ever think that there's another explanation for something that what your stubborn ass is thinking?" he yelled, catching her as she stumbled again. She fell against a chain-length fence as Elliot put an arm on each side of her head, pressing against the fence. "Dammit, Olivia! That guy was dangerous! Do you not get that? He has been known to shoot anybody that stands in his way…men, women, children…" he had had enough.

Watching as the rain fell down his face, Olivia's eyes narrowed. "I can handle myself, Elliot!" she yelled back.

"I wasn't worried about you handling yourself, Liv! Have you…" he paused, looking down then back up into her eyes. "Dammit! Have you ever stopped to think that maybe I was trying to protect you? That I took Finn because, as shitty as it is, he means a lot less to me than you do. If he would've been shot, I could've moved on. If you…Dammit, Liv!" he yelled, more angry at himself than anyone. "If you would've gone and gotten shot…" his voice quieted down slightly.

Still backed against the fence as Elliot, Olivia's heart began to drop as her drunk-self was beginning to comprehend what was going on. She watched as Elliot's eyes traced every feature of her face over and over again.

"I can't live without you, Olivia," he admitted, bowing his head beside hers.

Reaching up a hand, Olivia lifted his head up to look at her again. "You don't have to live without me," she promised, her eyes burning into his.

Without another word spoke between the two, Elliot's lips were pressed against hers with extreme force as she was pushed back into the fence even more. His tongue slid against her lips, spreading them apart as opposed to waiting for permission. His body pressed against hers as her hands found their way to his soaking wet hair, grabbing handfuls at a time.

* * *

><p><em>Present Day<em>

The next morning, Elliot woke up to something shaking his side of the bed. Looking over with half-open eyes, he smiled as he saw the toddler standing next to the bed. "Daddy!" she whisper-yelled.

With a chuckle, he put his finger up to his lips. Carefully getting himself out of the bed, case on his leg included, Elliot took Emma's hand and hobbled to the hallway, shutting the bedroom door behind himself. "Morning, princess," he told her, swooping her up in his arms.

Emma giggled, her brown curls bouncing on her head as he carefully walked from the bedroom to the kitchen. "I hungries, daddy," she informed him as he sat her on the kitchen counter.

"You are?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't hear your stomach growling!" he argued with the three-year-old. Seeing her face get flustered, Elliot laughed and kissed Emma on the top of her head. "What would you like to eat, madam?"

"Eggs and bacon!" she told him with a duh-look on her face.

"How about," he poked her stomach causing her to giggle again, "We make you some breakfast and then make mommy breakfast in bed?" he suggested.

"Momma said not eat in bed," she informed him with her hands on her hips.

"I think mommy will have to get over it just this one time," Elliot chuckled. "You wanna see if some cartoons are on the tv while I fix you some eggs and bacon, princess?"

"Yes, please!" Emma asked, shooting her arms in the air for Elliot to pick her up again.

Taking her in the living room, Elliot hobbled back to the kitchen and began to quietly make breakfast for his youngest daughter. Before too long, he had a small plate of bacon and eggs prepared just for Emma. Once she had eaten, Elliot sat her on the counter and had her help make breakfast.

"Can you stir these?" he asked, sitting a bowl full of cracked eggs on the counter beside her.

"Yes sir," she replied, being careful not to spill any out of the bowl. Once he had the bowl back, Elliot dumped the eggs into the pan. "Daddy?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, princess?" he asked, smiling over at her.

"Is you gonna marry momma?" she asked, plain as day.

Shocked, Elliot looked over at her with a chuckle as he stirred the eggs. "You sure are a persistent little thing, aren't you?" he asked, more to himself than to her. "Why are you asking that again, sweetheart?"

"Cuz mommas and daddies spose'ta be married," she reasoned, watching his every move.

"Well, that's something for mommy and daddy to talk about, princess. And something you shouldn't be worried about," he told her with a smile, kissing her forehead. "Now, let's get this food on a plate!" he told her with excitement.

After putting the food on a plate, he found a tray along with a vase and a small flower to put in it. Very carefully and easily, Elliot carried the tray down the hallway, despite the case on his leg, and looked behind him at Emma. "Open the door for me, princess!" he whispered.

Running ahead, Emma opened the door and ran to the bed, climbing on it and shaking her mom's arm. Groaning, Olivia rolled over and smiled as she saw the little girl. "Morning, baby," she told Emma, pulling her into her arms.

"Momma! Es bekfust in bed!" she announced as Elliot approached the bed.

"Whoa, what? Breakfast in bed?" Olivia asked with a grin, slowly sitting up in the bed.

"Daddy says you gotta deal wif eatin' bekfust in bed," Emma told her matter-of-factly, earning a chuckle from both of her parents.

"I think I can deal with it," Olivia laughed, pulling the covers over the lower half of her body as Elliot placed the tray on top of her legs. Looking up at him with her chocolate eyes, she smiled. "Thank you," she told him softly.

With a grin, Elliot nodded. "My pleasure, baby."


End file.
